Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice include flirtatious emails between Kathy Wasserman and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games chief Casey Wasserman has apologized for communications with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago after a series of private emails between the two were made public.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday released new documents related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell’s ex-boyfriend, including flirtatious email exchanges between Wasserman and Maxwell dating from 2003, who were married at the time.

In 2021, Maxwell was convicted by a New York jury on charges including sex trafficking of minors and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said in a statement Sunday.

“I am deeply sorry to have had any contact with any of them.”

Maxwell was accused by federal prosecutors of recruiting and enticing girls to have sex with Epstein between 1994 and 2004 and was arrested in 2020.

“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” Wasserman said, adding that it occurred before her and Epstein’s crimes “came to light.”

The International Olympic Committee, which works closely with Wasserman in preparing for the Summer Games, declined to comment.

“I believe Mr Wasserman has made his statement and we have nothing to add,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry told a news conference ahead of next week’s Games in Milan-Cortina.

Asked whether Wasserman’s email shortly before the Milan Games was a distraction, Coventry said past Olympics had been dogged by stories before they started, such as the Zika virus ahead of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

“Anything that interferes with these Olympics is sad,” Coventry said.

“But we’ve learned over the years… there’s always something that leads the way before the Olympics. What keeps my faith alive is when the opening ceremony happens… suddenly the world remembers the magic and spirit of the Olympics,” she said.

Wasserman, a sports and entertainment executive who has led the LA28 Olympics project from its bid stage, currently serves as chairman of the organizing committee, which will present a progress report to an International Olympic Committee meeting on Tuesday.

In 2017, the city won the right to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.